Master Li
by HeavenStar2703
Summary: After the Battle between the master and the student, Meiyi turned out to be the victorious. However, she must come to term with the true Master Li in her heart before she can move on with her life. R&R please, I would be immensely thankful for any comment


**_Author's Notes _**

Jade Empire and its characters do not belong to me. However, my protagonist is my own creation, meaning that I create another character entirely for this story (I wish it was possible to create my own character in the game).

This is my first try at writing fan-fiction, so if you could give me a review, I would be very thankful. I hope you enjoy reading the story as much as I enjoy writing it.

**_Master Li _**

It had been only a month since that battle had taken place and had ended. The battle was between me and Sun Li, not my master Li of the Two Rivers, but the Glorious Strategist who had been plotting and waiting for these twenty long years. I am still not quite sure whether to be glad for all of the empire that his plan did not come to fruition, or to pity him to have seen his carefully laid plan failed before him at the last moment of his life. 

I was standing in the Two Rivers School once more, after all those months ago when I left it to chase the trail of my master. I stood now before the tomb of the nameless old master of the Two Rivers School, which, thank the gods, escaped the destruction around it quite handily. All though the stone of tomb itself did not alter, everything else around it did. The once peaceful and beautiful place was burnt to the ground. The stone wall and the building structures were mostly gone, leaving piles of rubbles and debris behind as the reminder of the folly of Sun Li. The trees and gardens were also gone, leaving only remnants of burnt stumps and charred spots upon the ground. The scent of fresh earth was also gone, replaced with the repulsive smell of ashes and burning which will linger for quite a time to come. In the place which used to be filled with life and activities, now nothing of its former self remained. Even the air itself was still.

And one of the more recent changes than the destructions was that another tomb stone was erected beside the old one, with the name of Master Li carved deeply upon it.

I had ordered the stone to be carved in all possible haste in the imperial city and then taken to Two Rivers with Master Li's body, ignoring the incredulity of the Princess Lian, no, of the Empress Lian. She could not quite understand why I should do such a thing for the traitor, as she called my master. Even Sky looked at me questioningly when he heard of this, but prudently refrained from asking me questions. Dawn Star, however, only looked at me with her most solemn expression. We looked at each other without speaking one word on the matter, but it was all that I needed to understand her approval and gratitude.

I had asked that Master Li's body be buried here as soon as possible, but I did not come to oversee this being done. The Empress had expressed strongly that she could not afford to have me wander off while the whole Empire was still in such a mess, and required my help for the time being. With the persuasion of Sky, I grudgingly agreed to stay and help, but acquired a promise from Lian to be spared as soon as possible. So Dawn Star had come to restore order to Two Rivers by herself with a handful of workers. The village and some parts of the school were already cleared of rubbles and debris, and tombs were built for those who died in the attack in the village. The only tombs that were located in the school itself were those of the students and Master Li.

And now, as I stood in front of my master's tomb, remembering everything that has happened in so short a time, I was still quite unsure of what I was feeling at the moment. There were pain and grieve, of that I was certain, but I was not at all certain about anything else. Through all of the confusions and pain, however, there was one question which I could not let go.

My master was Sun Li, but was he truly the Glorious Strategist who had been death and destruction of so many, or was he, deep within his heart, unfathomable to all but himself, the kindly old master who had raised me as if I were his own child all my life?

Slowly I knelt in front of my master's tomb. On the stone carved the words, '_Master Li of the Two Rivers School_'.

I remained still for I do not know how long. There was nothing to indicate the passage of time, nor would I have cared to look even if there was an indication. I was so deeply absorbed in my own thoughts and the confusions that came with it. His love and pride for me had always been the most important things, the only thing I was ever sure of in my life. Was it all a lie? For all these twenty long years which had been all my life, was he acting a part, or was he truly sincere in his love and pride for me?

In my mind his last words echoed. '_It seems I was a better teacher… than I thought_'. What did that mean? I had heard wonder in his voice, but did I imagine it, or was there also a trace of old pride he always had for me before? Or did it only hold disbelief and contempt? I could not tell. I could no longer contemplate on the subject without bringing more dismay upon myself.

But being here, in the place which was the only home I had ever known all my life, memories assaulted mercilessly. I suddenly fell into the reverie of my earliest memory of Master Li, when I was but a young child who barely knew how to walk. I remembered a slight misstep and I fell to the ground and bruised my arm. I cried pitifully, all the while my master, my kindly master, not as old then as he was when I last saw him, applied a cool balm on my bruise and took me his arm, patting my hair softly and murmured kind words to me.

'_There, there,_' he said in the distant memory closest to my heart. '_Do not cry, Meiyi. There may be pain, but you must learn a lesson from it, my child. You stumbled and fell today, but you will learn, and tomorrow you will walk carefully and not fall, and there will be no more pain, then._'

I felt a lump in my throat, but I forced it down as another memory assailed my mind. I saw myself as a young girl, older than I was in the previous memory, but much younger then. My height reached about Master Li's elbow. He was teaching me how to block an attack from an enemy who strike from above.

'_Do not use the front of your arm to receive the blow like that,_' he had said kindly, even when his demeanour was serious, '_For if the enemy strikes hard enough, he will break your arm. Use the inside of your arm instead, like this._' He demonstrated while my young self copied his move meticulously. '_There, this way, if your enemy strike is too hard, your arm will be pushed back a little, but will not break. There, well done, my child._'

Tears sprang behind my eyes, but I swallowed them back. But memories, like the current of the river in Tien's Landing, flowed fast and were unstoppable. I remembered his face, as clear as the reflection of the moon upon still water. I remembered his every expression, every look and every word. I remembered him observing my bout with Jing Woo the day before he was taken away. I remembered how I turned and glimpsed the pride shone from his bright, acute eyes, and the gentle tone of his voice that was filled with love whenever he called me his child. Then I knew, oh I knew it in my heart that there could be no other way.

'Master Li,' I whispered. My voice was no louder than whispering wind, but it cleared and there was neither falter nor hesitation in it. 'Master Li. No matter what happened, no matter what the truth is, you will always be my master, my parent. I will always remember you as my Master Li.'

In my kneeling position, I bowed until my forehead touched the ground in front of Master Li's tomb.

Then, out of the sudden, the gentle breeze brushed through the stillness of the air.

A single tear fell down from my eyes. I wept as the wind blew past me, and with it I thought I heard a familiar voice calling out.

_…There you are my child, there you are… _


End file.
